Raiza Lisboa, who graduated from UNC in 2009 with a degree in peace, war and defense and French, is a finalist for a prestigious award from Teach for America.
The Sue Lehmann Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes extraordinary second-year teachers in urban and rural public schools. Lisboa was one of five award finalists. A French teacher at Miami Central Senior High School, Lisboa and the other award finalists each received a $1,000 prize.
Teach For America recruits, trains, and supports outstanding recent graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in under-resourced schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity. Now in its eighth year, the Sue Lehmann Award for Excellence in Teaching honors second-year Teach For America teachers, or corps members, who represent the organization’s ideals of achievement and instructional leadership and embody the organization’s core values.
Lisboa’s students made remarkable academic progress increasing the number of students passing the AP French exam by 37 percent over the previous year, earning her students a spot above the global mean score on the AP exam.
“I come into the classroom every day believing 100 percent that my students can and will succeed,” said Lisboa. “I work to convince them of their own potential by making it a point to show them their own progress and investing them in a vision for their future. Everything has a purpose and there is no coasting – just hard work and results.”
Lisboa is continuing to teach at Miami Central beyond her two-year commitment through Teach For America. Lisboa says, “My focus right now is teaching and my heart is completely in the classroom this coming year.”
Created in honor of longtime Teach For America national board member Sue Lehmann, the annual award recognizes and celebrates the finest in teaching. Nominations are submitted by Teach For America teachers and instructional coaches across the country for evaluation by national, regional, and alumni selection committees. The award selection process fuels improvements to Teach For America’s training and support program in order to ensure that all corps members make a dramatic impact on the lives of their students.
